CHAPTER ONE
The seagulls’ cries echoed, and the incoming tide erased all signs of anyone passing over the sand. Kevan’s feet pounded, as she passed under the pier and around the big white rock the town had been named after. Her blood surging through her veins as she tossed another glance over her shoulder.
Her mind raced through the family history, as she checked and then double-checked her back trail before she left the beach. She struggled to bring her breathing under control while she slowly jogged across the street and up the block to the welcoming warmth of the Crystal Shop, which sat last in a line along an older block of businesses that relied on tourists and local new-agers. The colorful exterior and the welcoming displays gave its customers the feeling of meeting an old friend.
Kevan smiled to herself as she thought of how she and her older sister Brennan, who both had an affinity for designing jewelry, had fought over the name of their store, finally deciding on the Crystal Shop. They had stocked it with a variety of items, including books, greeting cards and meditation crystals. They also took old jewelry no one liked, and reworked them into more modern styles, that people now wanted. The Cameron sisters did okay, Kevan thought.
Finishing up with one of their repeat customers, Brennan glanced up as Kevan burst through the door. Kevan paid no attention to them, but stared out the front window watchfully. The encounter replayed in her head. Out taking a run to shake the cobwebs from her mind, the sight of him emerging from the pounding surf had stopped her in her tracks. Her eyes had taken him all in, from the water pouring off his rock hard torso, to the hands pushing his hair back. Observing the rivulets flowing down his sculptured body she felt pinpricks of heat on her face and her senses heightened. Then the tattoos came into focus.
Something about them triggered alarms in her head. Daring another look, she felt her heart stop when he caught her eyes, her heart pounded with recognition when he smiled. Spooked, and more than a bit confused, she had taken off.
In the safety of the shop, Kevan vaguely heard Brennan, who was writing up the sales slip, talking to Mrs. Davis. Tucking the credit card slip into the cash register, Brennan watched Kevan out of the corner of her eye.
Mrs. Davis gushed, “You girls are magical. I know my sister is just going to love these earrings and necklace. Next time, it’ll be for me.”
“Why thank you, Mrs. Davis. As you know, if you don’t see something you like, we can always create a custom design” Brennan told her as she walked around the desk, and handed her the bag. What’s with Kevan? She wondered to herself. “Thank you again, Mrs. Davis; you have a great rest of your day.” she said aloud.
Kevan finally turned to face Brennan. The silence in the shop was broken only by the soft music playing in the background. Kevan braced herself for the fact that peacefulness was about to lose out to a temper filled lecture.
“What happened?” Brennan demanded. Her sister flinched; she could already see the anger rising in Brennan’s face.
“Bren, calm down ...”
“Kevan?” insisted Brenna in her mom-tone.
“You know, you’re going to give yourself a heart attack before you’re thirty, if you keep assuming the worst.”
“Well, something’s wrong. I can see it on your face. Now tell me what the hell you’ve gotten yourself into this time.”
“Hey,” Kevan threw back, “that’s not fair. All I did was go for a run. You knew I was going.”
“And?”
“And what?”
“Kevan, so help me, I’m not in the mood for your quirky sense of humour today. Tell me what happened.”
“Nothing, really. It’s just that while I was running I saw this guy. Oh, my gods, Brennan, he was so good looking.” Kevan got a dreamy look on her face.
“Kevan, you’re really pushing it,” Brennan cautioned.
“Oh fine. He had tattoos,” she spat out.
Brennan began ranting, “All of this because he has tattoos? Do you know how many…?”
Kevan interrupted, “Please give me some credit. These weren’t ordinary tattoos.”
Brennan drew a sharp deep breath, terrified to ask the question she knew she had to ask. “What kind of tattoos?”
“I think you know. I’m almost positive it was one of them.”
“Damn it Kevan. If you did anything to expose this family …”
“Whoa! Calm down, Brennan, I’m only human. If you’d seen this guy, you would have stopped to admire him, too.”
“You stopped?” Brennan could feel the anger fueled heat rising.
“Yes, I stopped. For god’s sake, I’m a healthy woman, and believe me, he was a prime specimen of manhood. It’s not like I talked to him or anything. I enjoyed the eye candy, but those tattoos triggered something. I realized who he might be, and took off.
Brennan released the breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding. “So, you didn’t talk to him?
“Of course not,” Kevan defended herself.
Brennan tried to explain her over reaction, “It’s just … well, after what happened to Myrna and …”
“Why are you even bringing up Myrna’s attack? I thought we had decided it was a mugging, and nothing else.”
“Then who saved her? Why didn’t they stick around for the cops?” Brennan pointed out.
“I think you’re reading too much into a simple mugging; let’s not get paranoid. This conversation is over; I need a shower.”
“Oh, no you don’t; you’re supposed to be helping me prepare for inventory, remember?”
“Brennan, I’m sweaty and I stink, so I’m going to take a shower. The inventory stuff can wait. Besides, I thought everyone was coming to help us on Saturday, so it won’t take as long.”
Brennan shrugged her shoulders. “They are, but I thought maybe we could get a jump on it.”
Kevan shook her head, walking through the shop towards the back entrance. “I’m taking a shower, Brennan. Stop acting like Mum. I’m 27 and I have a mother. I don’t need another, thank you very much. Later!”
With that, she strolled out the back door, heading across the laneway to the old farm style house they’d inherited from their grandmother. Sprawling add-ons had been tacked on in the past to allow privacy for each of the many bedrooms. The original central structure now made up the common living area and updated open concept kitchen. People had remarked about how it reminded them of a haunted house, but it appealed to all the girls. When the 10 women, all sisters and cousins, discovered they’d inherited the old family home, they’d decided to live in it together.
It had been six months, and the renovations were still in the talking stage; the house needed major TLC. Three bathrooms and 10 women, that took major consideration on all their parts, so everyone got a chance at hot water and didn’t have to do the pee dance too often.
Brennan stared after the retreating Kevan, and looking around the empty shop deflated her desire to get a jump start on the inventory. Her sister’s encounter disturbed Brennan more than she was willing to admit. A glance into the distance showed dark clouds gathering on the horizon, and the churning of the cold grey ocean did not encourage her to stay, so she shut down early for the night.
Stopping by her workbench, she picked up the newly finished necklace and earrings she had been working on, and ran her fingers over the rough stones. The heirloom necklace, from which the stones had come, had been handed down for generations from oldest daughter to oldest daughter. Now her mum had given the necklace to her. Each time she touched the stones, she felt strangely comforted, and she longed to give each of the women a share of it. The need became overwhelming after what happened to Myrna, and nothing else mattered until she was finished.
Now Brennan put the remaining strands in the safe, and placed the finished pieces in her purse, hoping the girls would like them. With one last look over the darkened shop, she walked out the back door. Her thoughts jum
ped from Kevan’s encounter, to who would be home for dinner and what was cooking.